ACLU lobbyist, gay rights/pro-choice activist Larry Frankel found dead

By GottaLaff

A town hall meeting in York, PA, on October 10, 2007, addressed LGBT discrimination. Featuring Larry Frankel, Legislative Director of ACLU-PA...

This is the kind of mystery I do not like to report:

Longtime Pennsylvania ACLU lobbyist and Executive Director Larry Frankel, who in the last year or so has become the lobbyist for the national ACLU, has apparently been found dead in Washington under mysterious circumstances. This is a breaking news story in which most key facts are still generally unknown.

Frankel was an outstanding lobbyist for the Pennsylvania ACLU in Harrisburg, taking positions on scores to hundreds of bills each year. He was a coalition builder reminiscent of Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate or William Brennan on the U.S. Supreme Court, who aggressively reached out to unlikely allies like the National Rifle Association to help persuade members of the legislature that the ACLU was addressing broad concerns.

His aggressive outreach removed the ACLU from the fringes or margins of state policy and moved it toward the center of direct involvement.

A proud gay man, he was militant on the issue of gay marriage [...]

Larry believed in the importance of facts in making decisions. His correspondence with legislators was full of facts. [...]

He made progress on hard issues, such as the death penalty and mandatory minimum sentences, by documenting their high fiscal costs. [...]

He was a strong voice on freedom of choice, equal rights for women, and freedom of speech. [...] But he was tenacious, factual, honest, and decent, and he earned the deep respect of virtually all with whom he came into contact. [...]

He was one of the finest human beings to serve as a lobbyist, and his daily work honored the lobbying profession, as well as the ACLU and the gay community.

I searched around and couldn't find anything else on this. If anyone out there knows more, or can link me to other sources, I'd greatly appreciate it.

After the Dr. Tiller assassination, this is more than a little worrisome, but the facts aren't in yet, so... it's wait-and-see time.

H/t: Galelem

Arizona Governor signs bills on guns, abortion

By GottaLaff

Some trade-off-- Napolitano leaves, and all hell breaks loose:

Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday signed into law tight new restrictions on access to abortion in Arizona, imposing a 24-hour waiting period on women seeking the procedure and requiring that minors first receive written, notarized consent from a parent or guardian.

The Republican governor also expanded the rights of gun owners by allowing those with a concealed-carry permit to take their firearms into establishments that serve alcohol, but she cited wildfire concerns in rejecting a proposal that would have legalized the sale of small fireworks in the state.

So if you're downing a few beers at the ol' watering hole, carrying deadly weapons "fireworks" is dandy, but sparklers? Ooo, watch out, they're a real threat. Yeah, that's logical.

For abortion opponents, Monday's bill signings were long-sought victories.

One by one, similar measures had appeared on then-Gov. Janet Napolitano's desk for six years. And, one by one, she vetoed them.

So, perhaps no group was more excited than social conservatives by Napolitano's resignation in January and the ascension to the Governor's Office of longtime abortion-foe Brewer. Their enthusiasm was palpable Monday.

H/t: Tiggrr1

VIDEO: "Jane Roe" Arrested at Sotomayor Hearing

By GottaLaff



This makes me very sad:

"The woman known as 'Jane Roe' in the landmark Supreme Court abortion case Roe v. Wade was reportedly arrested today at Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's Senate confirmation hearing," reports CBS News.

"Norma McCorvey is best known for her role in the 1973 court ruling that secured a woman's right to an abortion. Years after the pivotal case, McCorvey recanted her support for abortion rights and became an active anti-abortion demonstrator."

I was well aware that she had reversed herself on reproductive rights, but still...

Huckabee Running Robo-Calls in Iowa re: Sotomayor and abortion rights

By GottaLaff

Rebranding, huh? Hucka-stucka in the mucka:

Chuck Todd reports that Mike Huckabee "is sponsoring robo-calls in Iowa gauging interest on whether it's worth putting together a paid campaign to fight the nomination of Judge Sonya Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. According to a person who took the recorded survey over the phone, it is from Huckabee, asks if the person on the phone is pro-life or pro-choice, whether they condemn abortion rights and whether they would contribute money to support ads against Sotomayor."

Abortion rights wronged

By GottaLaff

I don't have a link for this yet, but I got a Breaking News Tweet:

AP: Federal appeals court revives Virginia's ban on type of late-term abortion in 6-5 decision.

And if that's not enough, there's this from the L.A. Times:

ARIZONA

Abortion restrictions approved

The state Senate approved a bill to impose new restrictions on abortion, including a mandatory 24-hour waiting period and a requirement that doctors follow a state script in disclosing risks and alternatives to women.

An existing law that requires parental approval for minors would be toughened. And pharmacists and other healthcare providers could refuse to dispense emergency contraception on moral or religious grounds.

Welcome to 2009.

Anti-choice license plate battle may end at Supreme Court

By GottaLaff

Can I have a license plate that says, "Muslims rock!" or "Abortion is legal"?

From the Guardian:

...That has prompted political and legal battles in states that are refusing to adopt them, as well as demands for plates in support of abortion rights in states that permit the Choose Life version. The arguments look increasingly likely to end up before the supreme court.

In North Carolina, anti-abortion supporters last month put a bill before the state legislature for the eighth time to add a Choose Life plate to the 130 specialised ones already on offer. (They include designs celebrating fox hunters, a police motorcycle club, and shag dancing, a regional form of the jitterbug.) Approximately 400,000 of the state's eight million registered vehicles carry specialist plates, which cost an extra $30 with a portion of the fee going to the cause on display.

The bill was introduced by a Republican member of North Carolina's legislature, Mitch Gillespie, who says he cannot see why anyone would object to a Choose Life plate. "We are not going to unveil a tag that would have something on there that is offensive to anybody, that would show a foetus or something like that," he said.

Oh, well then, so long as we don't see a plethora of plates emblazoned with, "I heart [graphic of fetus]"...

The problem, IMHO, is where the money goes via vehicle registration, not the message. But freedom of speech issues prevail:

In January, Arizona lost a suit filed after it denied a similar request for a pro-life license plate. The plate was ruled free speech, according to the San Francisco Chronicle [...]

Virginia became the most recent state to add a pro-life license plate design, joining 22 others which have adopted similar plates.

The group pushing "Choose Life" plates have been at this for quite a while, starting in Florida 12 years ago. It seems this little 501(c)(3), agree with 'em or not, has managed to be effective.

There's something unseemly about anti-choicers trying to push their message on the fronts/backs of a cars and trucks. Pushy, aren't they?

VIDEO: Hardball: Buchanan vs O'Donnell on President Obama Being Welcomed at Notre Dame

By GottaLaff

Pat Buchanan and Lawrence O'Donnell get into it on Hardball over President Obama being welcomed at Notre Dame.

Fireworks. Get out the popcorn. Lawrence O'Donnell strutted his stuff.

H/t: Heather at C&L

Tim Kaine blocks funding for embryonic stem cell research

By GottaLaff

It's Tim Kaine Day... unfortunately. I just posted this. Now, sadly, I have to report this:

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has signed a bill into law banning the use of state funds for embryonic stem cell research.

The move puts the DNC chairman at odds with President Obama, who signed an executive order earlier this month reversing the Bush administration's ban on federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells.

The move also puts him at odds with yours truly. Hugely at odds. It's a very good thing President Obama didn't choose him as his running mate.

Kaine approved the Virginia bill on Monday, according to the governor's office, the same day he enacted legislation that would permit "Choose Life" license plates in the commonwealth — an act that angered state and national abortion rights advocates. [...]

All three of the Democrats vying to replace Kaine as governor this fall — Terry McAuliffe, Brian Moran and Creigh Deeds — support using state money for embryonic research.

Welcome to the Kaine mutiny.

Tim Kaine Signs Bill Creating 'Choose Life' License Plate

By GottaLaff

The chairman of the DNC is calling it a freedom of speech issue. Will we see a license plate with a pro-choice message?

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine came under fire Monday for signing a bill to create a "Choose Life" license plate, a move that abortion rights activists say runs afoul of his obligations as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Kaine, a Catholic who personally opposes abortion, said he considers such license plate messages a matter of free speech and added that the move was "in keeping with the commonwealth's longtime practice of approving specialty plates with all manner of political and social messages."

"If Planned Parenthood . . . or another similar organization ever chooses to seek a specialty license plate in Virginia, I believe the constitution would require the state to approve that plate to protect against any viewpoint discrimination," he said.

Well then. Planned Parenthood? NARAL? Where's your plate design?

But the decision -- and the reaction that followed -- illustrated the challenge Kaine faces in trying to balance elected office with his new national political job.

"It is unfortunate that, even after receiving thousands of messages from Virginians and pro-choice activists across the country, Gov. Kaine has opted to sign a bill that advances a divisive political ideology at the expense of women's health," said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, said "the Choose Life plate will provide private-sector funding, not tax dollars, to organizations that support families caught in crisis situations. Everyone should agree that is a good thing for the commonwealth."

After the first 1,000 plates are sold, $15 of the $25 annual fee would go to Heartbeat International, a Christian pregnancy resource organization, which would distribute the money to about 40 centers in the state that meet the group's standards.

Evansville bishop boycotting anti-abortion event over Michael Steele's 'choice' remark

By GottaLaff

Following up on yet another boycott story based on freedom of choice issues, I give you ::fanfare:: Michael Steele's latest implosion reverberations, the sequel:

A Roman Catholic bishop will boycott an anti-abortion group's annual dinner next month because of abortion comments by keynote speaker and Republican National Chairman Michael Steele in a magazine interview.

Evansville Bishop Gerald Gettelfinger decided not to attend Vanderburgh County Right to Life's annual dinner, which will also feature Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, on April 16 because of Steele's comments published online by GQ two weeks ago, diocese spokesman Paul Leingang said Tuesday.

Gettelfinger, the spiritual leader of about 90,000 Catholics in southwestern Indiana, has attended the Right to Life dinner each year for at least a decade, Leingang said. [...]

Palin, who opposes abortion, drew criticism from other abortion foes this month when she appointed a former Planned Parenthood board member to Alaska's Supreme Court. [TPC post here]

A veritable cornucopia of Steele-Palin issues. Two! Two! Two controversies in one! Weeeeee!